Oaken Dusk
by Aleyn Cravex
Summary: Sofia has always adored Cedric, but never felt right in saying anything until she was old enough. A short drabble for Cedric/Older Sofia.


Sofia crept through the castle, avoiding the ever watchful eyes of her family, and the servants. If at all possible, she wanted to elude even Baileywick. Skirting around statues and vases, ducking under windows and checking to see if rooms are empty of life, she made her way to the west wing of her home. Staying out of sight was hard on an average day, but it was much harder on her birthday. Today, she turned 18, and almost the whole village had come to celebrate.

She sighed quietly to herself, relieved that she had made it the entire way undetected. Stepping into the darker, colder part of the west wing, she suddenly became nervous. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. Still, stubborn as she is, she started climbing the spiraling stone staircase towards the upper level of the tower. Her heart began to race, as did her thoughts. Upon reaching the door at the top of the stairs, she stopped in her tracks, thinking about this one last time. Trembling where she stood, she knocked lightly on the door.

"M-Mr. Cedric?" She thought that she may have been too quiet. There was no response from the other side, but after a moment, she heard a usual explosion, and a crash.

The sorcerer opened the door, his face covered in soot. "Yes, princess Sofia?" He sounded aggravated by the interruption, but didn't make it a point to ask her to leave. "Shouldn't you be downstairs celebrating with everyone else?"

"I wanted to ask you something." She looked down, shuffling her feet.

Cedric lifted an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side. "Go on?" For once, he wasn't feeling impatient, but more or less curious.

"Later on, would you care to take a walk with me?"

"I…a walk?" It had been a while since he had gotten out of his lair to do much of anything. In fact, unless he was summoned, he didn't really leave for any reason. Watching Sofia nod, he took a moment to think about this. He glanced from her eyes to her amulet, but for the first time, he didn't stay focused on the latter. His eyes met hers dead on, and his heart fluttered notably. "W-why would you want to take a walk with me?"

"Because you're my friend, and I never see you anymore." She answered a little too quickly.

"Sofia." Cedric sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to look away from her. "You and I were just touching up your casting skills two days ago."

"I know, but-"

"And I'm very busy." He turned away, ready to lock himself away in his lair once more. But, that was only until Sofia grabbed his hand. He spun on his heel in surprise, being met with a pleading look.

"Please, Mr. Cedric. It's important."

He bit his lip and let out a long breath, ignoring his melting heart. "As you wish, princess Sofia. What kind of royal sorcerer would I be to deny the princess' wish on her own birthday?" Allowing his expression to falter, he smiled.

"Thank you!" Letting go of his hand, she wrapped her arms around his waist, getting him in a tight embrace. Once more, he stopped breathing, but only until she pulled away. "Meet me in the courtyard at 8pm?"

"Yes, yes of course." Cedric bowed awkwardly, watching her take off down the flight of stairs. Once he was sure she was gone, he shut his door again and groaned, sliding down to the floor. Wormwood squawked at him, hovering down from his post. He seemed to understand what the bird was saying. After so many years spent together, he didn't need to use a translator spell anymore.

"I know, Wormy. It's yet another opportunity to steal her amulet and take over the kingdom." He waited for a response. When his beloved friend said nothing, he scowled. "Hmm…maybe I do need that spell." Wormwood shook his ruffled feathered head and squawked again. "…wait. Are you trying to tell me to give it up?" The raven nodded, jumping back up to his perch. Cedric was about to protest, but he found he didn't have the will to do so.

"Merlin's Mushrooms…" He hoisted himself into his chair and rubbed his temples. "I think you're right." Hunching over, head in one hand, he glanced over at Wormwood. "11 years have passed, and still we have yet to succeed in any of those endeavors." Stretching out his legs, he hopped up to his feet and waltzed over to the window. Staring out over the vast landscape, he felt a foreign sense of peace wash over him. "It's time to move on."

Sofia waited by the courtyard gates at sunset, keeping a lookout for the sorcerer. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to show up. That is, only until he took her by surprise, appearing from behind a tree. He held out a red rose, causing her to blush. Luckily for her, the dying light of the day hid the color in her cheeks.

"Thank you, Mr. Cedric." Smiling brightly, she tucked the stem of the flower behind her ear. "Shall we?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He offered her his arm, and to his surprise, she took it without hesitation.

The two walked in silence at first, arm in arm, appreciating the scenery, and one another's company. Their path started at the edge of the courtyard, and made its way through the forest. They wandered towards one of the forest's edges, all the while Cedric pointed out and explained the magical and medicinal properties of some of the wild herbs that grew there. Sofia listened with great interest, wanting him to continue. But in the back of her mind, the reason she asked him out there was clawing at her.

Still, she let him talk. She loved hearing about all the wonderful things he could teach her. After living with him for so long, she realized that sorcery class in school left out too many important things. Cedric had, -although involuntarily at the time- become her instructor outside of school. Before she moved on to high school, they would meet every day after her lessons, go over the things she learned, and perfect them, in addition to adding more material for her. But, once the first year of upper level schooling hit, they _maybe_ saw each other twice a week for private tutoring.

"Princess Sofia, my dear…as much as I enjoy this, is there any reason you brought me outside on today of all days?" His question took her off guard and threw her for a loop. Did he somehow know she had something on her mind? "Your schooling is over…but is someone or something from it still bothering you?"

"Oh! No, no, Mr. Cedric." She laughed nervously, pulling him out of the cover of the trees and into the full light of the sunset. They sat together on a hill, underneath an old oak tree, still arm in arm. "I'm just happy to have time with you…uh…you know. Away from school…and…other childhood things."

Cedric quirked an eyebrow, glancing over at her. "Childhood things?"

"W-well, yeah! Like…like school, and, uh…um…all things relevant." She faltered, looking down and pulling her arm out of his. At the moment, she felt almost as if she blew it completely. But, once again, her favorite sorcerer had a surprise for her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into him in a half-embrace.

"Go on. You can tell me anything." He gave her a reassuring smile, telling her that he wanted to know what she had to say.

"Okay…" She took in a deep breath, but it wasn't enough to comfort her. "I'm an adult now, Mr. Cedric."

"Of course you are. You practically have been since you were a little girl." He smiled nostalgically, remembering all the times that she had gotten him out of a slump. His mother was right. She was his kindest, if not only friend, besides Wormwood.

"And…I've wanted to tell you something for a long time, but I knew I had to wait."

"What could possibly have to wait until you're 18?" He was more than a little concerned at this point. Sofia almost sighed in dismay at the fact that it was all going way over his head. "I thought you were comfortable telling me anything?"

"Just because I'm comfortable, it doesn't mean I should. It would have been too soon." She looked up at him, her heart pounding so hard, he could feel it through her rib cage. "Mr. Cedric…for years, I've been in love with you."

Cedric almost slipped off the support of his free arm. He stared at her in disbelief, unsure of how to take this. All of his blood seemed to rush to his face, making him dizzy. His heart beat furiously, threatening to burst through his sternum. He never thought the day would come where his beloved princess would be first to let the truth out. If she hadn't, he knew that he never would. His fear of rejection tormented him.

"I'm sorry. I knew this was a mistake." Sofia almost turned and ran, but this time, it was Cedric who took her hand. "Huh?" She let out a surprised yelp as he pulled her back down into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Mr. Cedric?"

"Cedric. Just…Cedric." He rubbed her back, sticking his nose into her hair, and taking in the sweet scent. "Sofia, my dear…I love you, too." They turned their heads at the same time, finding each other in a long-desired kiss.

They stayed out for the rest of the night, snuggling and chatting until the break of morning light. Sneaking back to the castle was not a big deal, since everyone was still asleep when they slipped inside, hand in hand. Little did they know, only Baileywick saw them steal one last kiss before they crept off to their own bedrooms. He shook his head and smiled, he not being the only one to have seen happening from a mile away. Even the king and queen knew that it would happen eventually. Shrugging it off, he went back to his morning chores, allowing the new couple some peace.


End file.
